XM SkyDock Turns iPod touch/iPhone Into Sat Radio Receiver

It's still a little funny to think that Sirius and XM Radio are now
one, and honestly, it's funny to think the company is still hanging
around. After being recently bailed out by Liberty Media and getting an iPhone app into the approval queue, the company is taking things one
step further by introducing its SkyDock mounting system.

Essentially, the $120 XM SkyDock converts one's iPhone or iPod touch
into an actual satellite radio receiver, and it gets power from your
automobile's cigarette adapter. The device sounds a little pricey, but
the features are certainly nice. For example, users can easily flag
songs that play in order to purchase them later on iTunes. Needless to
say, the move is being made in an attempt to boost its subscriber
ratings from around 19 million; currently, it picks up the most new
customers via new car sales, but it's having a hard time generating
interest outside of the dealership.

And given that just about everyone has or knows someone with an iPod
touch or iPhone, this plan certainly seems like one that could generate
interest. The SkyDock is one of the first items to actual take
advantage of the new hardware control capabilities in iPhone OS 3.0,
and obviously it charges the device when plugged in. It should ship
this fall right around the time that the aforesaid app gets approved,
though it still sounds as if NFL content will be missing despite the
fact that you need a full subscription to listen in at all.